Wednesday, November 25, 2015

People management as a career carries with it many necessary
skill sets. A bit of counseling, a dash
of conflict management, a hint of patience and a strong dose of listening
skills blend together to ensure that the staff you serve know they are heard
and valued. The management of people is
not a natural ebb and flow for most; it’s a dance mastered through practice,
research and observation. Curious, I don’t
see much of it taught on the university level.
Management courses on business development, organizational development
and finance (and their off-shoots) fill the curriculum for collegiate study.

I recall taking an interpersonal skills course in college,
and there were seven of us on day one.
By day two one had dropped as the size of the class was already too
uncomfortable for him. So, the six of us
plowed through various psychology and communicative styles in order to
appreciate other approaches and develop our own more deeply. It was thoroughly challenging and incredibly vulnerable.

So much of what was emphasized was basic response-oriented
training. When someone walks into a room,
acknowledge that person - say hello, ask them to have a seat, ask if you can help them. Body language,
verbal cues and facial expression are a functional part of managing people. Further, and more likely for many these days, the tonality
and inflection of the voice on the phone, and the sentence construct on a text
or email, set the stage for an appropriate conversation with an employee.

As our work in the human resources field continues to move
in a metric-oriented discipline, which has great merit, it is vital that we not
lose our people management skill set. And
if you’ve never had a people management skill set, then it is time to work on
it.

When people come to you, there has already been a story
playing for them. Pain or anger may have
taken root, depending on the situation. Broken
relationships cut deep – whether breakups, divorces or death. Our job is to get to the heart of it. We’re not counselors, understood, but if an
employee is walking into your office, then bet your bottom dollar that whatever
the issue is will distract that person from work. It is now a work consideration.

Basic coping mechanisms may be extended to the person, and
sometimes that happens naturally just by having someone on whom to unload. The skill sets of the employee could be
clouded, but our act of listening and providing visual cues of such attention
might move those clouds. The ability to
jump back into the swing of “normal” functioning may be as simple as that. Yet, when the door is consistently closed and the email
goes unanswered, an employee dives deeper into his/her issue, making it more
difficult to un-cloud.

Everyone has a story.
There is no one free from baggage.
Everyone wants more time.
Everyone has regrets (or would like a do-over on some things). Everyone has lost their way for a bit. Remember this as a people manager. Those we manage do look to us. What do they see? Of course, depending on the
situation, there are likely to be more steps after listening, but the first step sets
the right tone.

Answer the phone, respond to the email, open your door. Engage with your people. It doesn’t need to be seen as an employee
engagement objective. It should be seen
as being a person. A person who can support
another person. And sometimes we’ll have
quite a heavy burden to share in with this employee. We can manage the road together.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Try to watch “Law and Order” as if you’ve never seen an
episode before. Pretend like those two Bum-Bumps
are the first time you’ve heard them. It’s
fascinating to watch the entire hour and see how the two detectives process the
investigation which typically leads to the court case. I used to watch the original “Law and Order”
religiously. Yes, I know that there are
SVU, CI, SUV and hybrid versions, but I was a fan of the original. The course of action taken by the detectives is
methodical, a bit stale and thorough, but it works.

For the employee who comes to the HR department with a
complaint, inquiry or charge, there is an expectation for answers and
investigation. HR loves the answers, but
perhaps to a fault. Our ability to
provide solution to the complaint may not really handle the issue at hand. The employee can feel his/her issue has been
minimized as he/she leaves your office (or cubicle area or working table or Segway
mobile office). Are we satisfied with
just an “answer” or do we need to spend time trying to understand where this
issue comes from?

Honestly, there are times that a simple answer is all that
is needed. Let’s not make a mountain out
of molehill. If someone comes to
complain about not being off for Arbor Day, that may be a very quick
conversation. Something like, “I’m sorry
that you’d like the company to be closed for Arbor Day, but if you have PTO
available to you, perhaps you could plan on using some in order to spend time
planting trees to honor the day.” Smile
sincerely and usher them out. Close the
door and reflect on why you’ve chosen the career you have. After a few minutes, you’ll be back at it!

But what about the ones that take a bit more? If an employee asks about hours not paid on a
paycheck, then perhaps a quick look at the time system, finding where the data
was corrupt or not transferred into payroll will prevent the occurrence in the
future. Perhaps there is a bit of
management training needed. Perhaps the
employee needs a reminder on the time clock.
Perhaps it’s a one-time Gremlin in the system. All it would take is a little bit of research
mixed with a little bit of conversation and/or training.

And then, there are the ultimate investigations, such as harassment,
discrimination or theft. A process for
this investigation should be in place.
What will it take for the company to handle the claims presented? Is there a path to follow? No?

There are components of good investigation that are
universal. Try to work within a flow of
process in those components in order to gather the information needed. An investigation is serious and it does
require professionalism in approach. If
you are the HR person who would lead or conduct the investigation, have you
established yourself in the company as someone capable of such work? If you’ve been relegated or allowed yourself
to be relegated to the party-planning HR person or the gossip-laden HR person,
then it’s not likely that you’ll gather all of the data necessary in your
investigation.

Staff may not be able to draw a line between the “Buddy HR”
person and the “Detective HR” person you’re trying to be. That is a tall order. As such, determine whether outside help might
be needed. Does your process allow for
this possibility? Between the HR role
played, the characters in the investigation and the subject matter involved, an
outside expert might be the most beneficial for the organization. Be okay with letting someone in. It’s not about dirty laundry but about
ascertaining the truth and finding solution, however difficult that may be.

Be clear, too, in the fact that you will need to speak with
others. When an employee starts his/her
complaint to you with “Please don’t say anything, but…”, you can be sure that
you’re likely going to need to say something to someone else. A true investigation will need facts and
accounts from all parties named and involved.
Keeping this between us is not possible, let alone the matter of law
that may be in play. Disclosure may be
required. Consult your counsel if you
have questions in any of these areas.
Likely an attorney will tell you that you cannot promise to keep what’s
shared only between you two.

There are great resources available to you to help with
investigation. Take the time to research
and develop a plan prior to needing a plan.
You will be able to approach plan development with less stress and with
more clarity of thought. Talk to your
senior team, your counsel, your HR colleagues in other companies, your SHRM
group…anyone who has been through developing a process. Learn from their victories and hiccups.

And while it may not be the wisest to wear a badge around the
office as if you’re the cop on duty, you should establish yourself as being an
integral part of the investigative process at your company. Just pin the badge on the inside of your suit
coat or sweater. You can know it’s
there. Bum-Bump.